The current UFC middleweight champ Alex Pereira is set to put his belt on the line for the time first time. At UFC 287, the Brazilian will face Israel Adesanya for the second time in a row. In the previous fight, Pereira handed Izzy a humiliating defeat and took the middleweight belt. Although there was a lot of posturing from both parties before the bout, they seemed cordial after the contest ended at UFC 281.
With Adesanya seeming extremely humble, fans thought it would spark a potential friendship between the two down the line. However, if Alex’s girlfriend, Merle, is to be believed, Poatan and Israel Adesanya are very unlikely to become friends. She cited one of Pereira’s former opponents with whom he has become great friends. However, that was only possible as the fighter let go of his ego and was open to becoming friends.
However, she does not feel like Adesanya is open to doing the same and added, “He (Alex) thinks Adesanya can’t forget it because he wants to make history. Even more than Anderson Silva, a winning streak like (over a) long period, you know. So (Alex) just broke this dream. So he thinks he will never forget it. So it will be difficult that they will be friends one day. Because it’s all about the ego you know.”
After his UFC 276 wins over Sean Strickland, Alex Pereira himself revealed that one of Adesanya’s statements was a motivating factor behind him becoming an MMA fighter. According to Pereira, Adesanya mocked Alex’s two kickboxing wins over him by saying that those wins would be his biggest career achievement. It sparked a fire under Alex, which made him train hard and ultimately beat Izzy once more in the UFC.
Israel Adesanya has 3 losses to Alex Pereira
Ahead of UFC 281, fans were obsessed with the rivalry between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira. The two shared a storied rivalry even before any of them were on the radar of UFC fans. Their first bout in the kickboxing ring came on April 2, 2016. On that day, the two fought at Glory of Heros 1 in China. There is a lot of debate between the fight fans about the result of the bout.
Many fans argued that Israel should have had the win over Alex in the first bout. Leading up to UFC 281, even Adesanya and his team made the case for robbery in the fight. However, their rematch in 2017 was legendary as it was the first time when Adesanya was severed from consciousness. But, up until the KO, Israel was his fluid best. However, Pereira’s power is legendary and it does magic whenever Alex needs it.
Their final bout was at UFC 281 in 2022, where the Brazilian fighter created history inside Madison Square Garden. In front of a pro-Izzy crowd inside the iconic MSG arena, he became the first MMA fighter to beat Adesanya via stoppage. Although The Last Stylebender rocked Pereira right at the end of the first round, Pereira came back to win the bout via KO.